(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a front structure of a motor vehicle, and particularly to an improvement in a connecting structure of a wheel apron reinforcement mounted in the upper side edge of an engine compartment.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
As a typical vehicle body structure in the vicinity of side portions of an engine compartment for a motor vehicle, the following arrangement has been known in the art. Longitudinally-extending front side frames having a closed cross-section are mounted on both right and left sides in the lower position of the vehicle body. Joined with the outer side-surfaces of the front side frames are wheel aprons which form side walls of the engine compartment. A portion of each wheel apron forms a wheel housing for accommodating a front wheel. The upper end portions of the wheel aprons are connected with reinforcing members having a U-shaped or L-shaped cross-section. This connecting relationship between the wheel apron and the reinforcing member results in a formation of a wheel apron reinforcement having a closed cross-section, thereby strengthening the upper side edge of the engine compartment. Further, a cross member is connected transversely with the right and left front side frames under the lower surfaces thereof. The front side frames may be provided with recessed portions on the outer side-surfaces thereof in order to avoid an interference with front wheels in the maximum steering position.
The aforementioned vehicle body structure is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laying Open Gazette No. 62-162173. According to this application, a front end of each front side frame of the vehicle body branches off in the vertical direction and this branch portion is joined with a flat reinforcement.
However, in motor vehicles having the above-mentioned vehicle body structure, the wheel apron reinforcements and the front side frames are subject to the shock load in case of collision of the motor vehicle. When the shock load is large enough to cause damage to the wheel apron reinforcements or the front side frames, effect of the shock load may reach engines and transmissions and results in the breakdown thereof. In addition, since formation of the recessed portions on the outer side-surfaces of the front side frames results in lower rigidity of the area around the recessed portions, the front side frames are increasingly susceptible to damage.
To overcome the above problems, one can easily come up with the idea of providing the wheel apron reinforcements and the front side frames respectively with reinforcing members. However, this causes the vehicle body to gain in weight thereof.